New Paradigm Digital

Category: AI Search

How AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews find and recommend businesses, and what to do about it.

  • Google AI Overviews and Local Businesses: What Changed and What to Do

    If you’ve Googled anything lately, you’ve seen them: the AI-written summaries sitting at the top of the results page. For local businesses, the big question is whether they’re stealing customers. The answer depends on what people are searching for.

    The short version: for searches like “roofer in Duluth,” Google still mostly shows the map pack. For questions like “how much does a new roof cost in Minnesota,” AI Overviews take over. Local businesses need a plan for both.

    What the data says

    Whitespark studied 540 local business searches across six industries and found a clear split based on what the searcher wanted:

    Type of searchExampleAI Overview shownMap pack shown
    Local intent“plumbers in Phoenix”15%93%
    Informational“how much do lawyers charge?”92%6%
    Hybrid“cost of dental implants in Phoenix”97%17%

    Across all the searches in the study, AI Overviews appeared 68% of the time. And they cost clicks. SparkToro’s analysis of early 2026 search data found that 68% of U.S. Google searches ended without a click, and that AI Overviews cut click-through rates by nearly 60% on the searches where they appeared.

    We saw the same pattern close to home. When we searched “best roofing companies in Duluth MN” this fall, Google showed ads and a map pack, with no AI Overview at all.

    What this means for your business

    The map pack still matters most when people are ready to hire

    When someone searches a service plus a town, they still tend to see the map pack. Your Google Business Profile, your reviews, and how close you are to the searcher drive that. Don’t neglect it while chasing AI.

    Research questions now go to AI Overviews

    Before people pick up the phone, they ask questions. What does it cost? How long does it take? Do I need a permit? When’s the best time of year to do it? Those searches increasingly get an AI-written answer. If your website answers them well, you have a shot at being one of the cited sources. If it doesn’t, a national blog or directory gets the credit, and the customer’s first impression.

    Most citations go to third-party sites

    In Whitespark’s study, about 60% of AI Overview citations pointed to third-party publishers rather than the businesses themselves. Directories, review sites, and local media carry real weight.

    What to do about it

    1. Keep your Business Profile complete and current. Categories, services, hours, photos, and a steady stream of new reviews.
    2. Write the cost and how-to pages your customers want. A “What does a new roof cost in Duluth?” page with real ranges and the factors that change them is exactly the kind of thing AI Overviews pull from.
    3. Put the answer first. Open each page or section with a direct two- or three-sentence answer, then explain the details.
    4. Use local specifics. Mention the towns you serve, local conditions (frost depth, lake-effect snow, seasonal demand), and local permit rules. Generic national content can’t do that.
    5. Get mentioned elsewhere. Chamber listings, local news, industry directories, and community forums all feed the sources AI Overviews cite.

    What about Google’s AI Mode?

    AI Mode is Google’s chat-style search. It’s still a small slice of searches (SparkToro found only a fraction of a percent of searches moved to AI Mode in early 2026), but it’s a preview of where things are heading.

    When we tried the same Duluth roofing search in AI Mode, it gave a detailed rundown of six local roofers, grouped by what each one was best at: one-day installs, storm damage and insurance claims, or specialty materials like slate and metal. Its descriptions leaned heavily on themes from each company’s Google reviews. The takeaway: reviews and a clearly defined specialty carry a lot of weight.

    A quick self-check

    Search for three or four questions your customers ask before they hire you, typed the way they’d type them. For example:

    • “how much does it cost to replace a furnace in Duluth”
    • “do I need a permit for a deck in Superior WI”
    • “best time of year to pave a driveway in Minnesota”

    If an AI Overview appears, look at which sites it cites. If none of them are local businesses, that’s an opening. A clear, well-organized page on your site that answers the question better, with local details a national site can’t match, is how you earn one of those spots.

    The bottom line

    AI Overviews haven’t replaced the map pack for “near me” searches, but they’ve taken over the research that happens before someone decides who to call. The businesses that win both are the ones with a strong Business Profile and a website that answers real questions clearly.

    Want to see how your business shows up in AI answers? Request a free AI visibility check, or read our plain-English explainer on generative engine optimization.

  • What Is GEO? Generative Engine Optimization in Plain English

    Generative engine optimization (GEO) is the work of getting your business and your content to show up in answers written by AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, and Google’s AI Mode. Traditional SEO aims for a spot in a list of links. GEO aims for a mention inside the answer itself.

    If you’ve heard the term tossed around and wondered whether it’s something new you need to pay for, here’s the plain-English version.

    Where did the term come from?

    The name comes from a 2023 research paper by a team from Princeton University and IIT Delhi, later presented at the KDD 2024 conference. The researchers rewrote web content in different ways and measured how often AI-generated answers used it. Their headline finding: the right changes could boost a source’s visibility in AI answers by up to 40%.

    What worked wasn’t keyword stuffing. The biggest gains came from making content more trustworthy and easier to quote: citing sources, adding relevant statistics, and including quotations from credible people.

    GEO vs. SEO vs. AEO

    TermWhat it’s afterWhere it shows up
    SEO (search engine optimization)Ranking in search resultsGoogle and Bing results, the map pack
    AEO (answer engine optimization)Being the direct answer to a questionFeatured snippets, voice assistants, AI Overviews
    GEO (generative engine optimization)Being mentioned or cited in AI-written answersChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, Google AI Mode

    In practice these overlap a lot. A business with a strong Google Business Profile, good reviews, and clear website content is already most of the way there. GEO adds attention to a few things traditional SEO sometimes skips.

    What GEO adds to regular SEO

    • Your reputation off your own site. AI tools lean heavily on what other people say about you: reviews, directories, local news, and community forums.
    • Quotable content. Short, direct answers near the top of a page, real facts and numbers, and clear headings make it easy for an AI tool to lift a sentence and credit you.
    • Consistent facts. If your hours, services, or service area differ from site to site, AI tools may hedge or leave you out.
    • Being known for something specific. “The roofer who does slate.” “The resort with the dog-friendly cabins.” AI answers often group businesses by what they’re best at, so a clear specialty earns you a slot.

    What GEO looks like for a small business

    For most of the Minnesota and Wisconsin businesses we work with, GEO isn’t a separate project. It’s a handful of habits added on top of good local SEO:

    1. Write a clear, specific description of what you do and where, and use it everywhere your business is listed.
    2. Add an FAQ to your key service pages, with a short, direct answer to each question.
    3. Back up your claims with real numbers: years in business, jobs completed, typical timelines, price ranges.
    4. Ask for reviews that mention the specific service. Customers tend to write about whatever you ask them about.
    5. Get listed on the two or three directories and “best of” lists that matter most in your industry.
    6. Check what AI tools say about you every month, and fix anything that’s wrong or missing.

    A quick example

    Say you run a cabin rental near Lutsen. A typical SEO goal is ranking for “Lutsen cabin rentals.” A GEO goal is being named when someone asks ChatGPT, “Where should we stay near Lutsen for a winter weekend with our dog?” To get there, your website should plainly say you’re pet-friendly and how far you are from the ski hill, your listings should say the same thing, and a few recent reviews should mention bringing a dog along. None of that is complicated. It just has to be clear and consistent.

    Is GEO just a buzzword?

    Partly. Some agencies sell it as a brand-new discipline, and it isn’t. Most of what works is good marketing that’s been around for years: be clear, be consistent, and give people good reasons to talk about you.

    But the shift underneath the buzzword is real. More people ask AI tools for recommendations instead of scrolling through a page of links, and the businesses that get named are the ones that are easy to understand and easy to verify. That’s worth paying attention to, whatever you call it.

    Why it matters more in small markets

    In a smaller market like the Twin Ports, an AI answer might name four or five businesses in your category. If there are fifteen of you competing, that short list is a big deal. And because fewer local businesses are working on this yet, a little effort goes a long way.

    If you want the step-by-step version, start with our guide on how to get your business recommended by ChatGPT.

    Where to start

    Not sure how AI tools see your business right now? We’ll ask ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and Google the questions your customers ask and send you a short walkthrough of the results. Request a free AI visibility check, or learn more about our AI search optimization services.

  • How to Get Your Business Recommended by ChatGPT: A Guide for Minnesota & Wisconsin Businesses

    Ask ChatGPT for a roofer in Duluth or a cabin rental on the North Shore and you’ll usually get a short list of names, a few star ratings, and maybe a map. If your business isn’t on that list, the customer never knew you were an option.

    The short answer: ChatGPT recommends businesses it can find and verify in several places at once: business listings, review sites, directories, local articles, and the business’s own website. The more consistent and well-supported your information is across those sources, the better your odds of making the list.

    How does ChatGPT decide which local businesses to recommend?

    OpenAI hasn’t published a recipe, so nobody can promise you a spot. But you can see what ChatGPT leans on by looking at what it cites. For local questions it searches the web in real time and pulls from a mix of sources:

    • Business listings and maps data: your name, address, hours, categories, and ratings.
    • Review platforms: Google, Yelp, Facebook, Angi, Tripadvisor, and industry-specific sites.
    • Directories and “best of” lists: the BBB, chamber of commerce listings, and local roundups.
    • Local news and community discussions: newspaper features and Reddit threads.
    • Your own website: services, service area, about page, and FAQs.

    When we asked ChatGPT for the best roofing companies in Duluth, most of the sources it cited were directories and review sites, not the roofers’ own websites. That lines up with Whitespark’s 2026 Local Search Ranking Factors survey, which found that mentions of your business on other sites are becoming more important because of AI search, not less.

    A practical checklist

    1. Get your basic facts consistent everywhere

    Your business name, address (or service area), phone number, hours, and categories should match on Google Business Profile, Bing Places, Apple Business Connect, Facebook, Yelp, and any industry directories. Conflicting information makes it harder for an AI tool to be confident it’s talking about you.

    2. Earn steady, recent reviews on more than one site

    Google reviews matter most for local search, but AI tools read widely. A handful of recent reviews on Facebook, Yelp, or an industry site (Angi for contractors, Tripadvisor for lodging) gives them more to work with. Ask every happy customer, every time. Recency matters as much as volume.

    3. Say clearly what you do, where, and for whom

    Vague homepages get skipped. Spell out your services, the towns you serve, and who you’re best for in plain sentences. “We install standing-seam metal roofs on homes and cabins from Duluth to Grand Marais” gives an AI tool something concrete to repeat. “Quality solutions for all your needs” doesn’t.

    4. Answer the questions customers actually ask

    Add an FAQ section or short guides that answer real questions: what it costs, how long it takes, whether you work in winter, whether you serve Superior. AI tools favor content they can quote directly, so put the answer in the first sentence or two.

    5. Get mentioned where your customers already look

    Join your chamber of commerce, get listed in the directories that matter in your industry, sponsor a local event that gets written up, and make sure the people who put together “best of” lists in your area know you exist. Each mention is one more place an AI tool can confirm you’re real and well regarded.

    6. Add structured data to your website

    Schema markup (LocalBusiness, or a more specific type like RoofingContractor or LodgingBusiness) tells machines your name, address, hours, and services in a format they don’t have to guess at. If your site doesn’t have it yet, it’s a quick win.

    What about Minnesota and Wisconsin specifically?

    Small markets work in your favor. In Duluth, Superior, Bemidji, or Hibbing, there may only be a handful of businesses in your category with strong reviews and solid listings. A few months of focused work can move you onto the short list faster than it would in Minneapolis or Milwaukee.

    Two Northland quirks to plan for:

    • If you serve both sides of the bridge, name Duluth and Superior in your service area and on your website so AI tools don’t assume you only work in one state.
    • If you’re seasonal, keep your hours and open or closed status current. An AI tool that thinks you’re closed won’t recommend you.

    How long does it take?

    Because ChatGPT searches the live web for local questions, fixes to your listings and website can start showing up within a few weeks. Building the reviews and outside mentions that get you recommended consistently usually takes a few months of steady work.

    Want to know where you stand?

    We’ll ask ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and Google the questions your customers ask, then send you a short walkthrough of where you show up and who shows up instead. Request a free AI visibility check, or read more about how our AI search optimization works.